My 1980 Orion 27 sailboat has what I term a "Natural List", in that it heals slightly to starboard when at rest. After speaking to other Orion 27 owners, who kind of chuckle when I mentioned this, this is normal due to the galley, navigation station, batteries, and fuel tank all being on the starboard side of the boat with just the water tank on the port side to counterbalance it. My PO put in some lead counter weights in various areas in an attempt to reduce this affect, but it is still noticeable when looking at the sailboat tied to its slip. My question is should I add more ballast to balance the boat out when no one is aboard, and when the water tank is full, or not worry about it since once people start using the seating areas inside, the extra human factor will balance it out? Any thoughts? How do you guys balance your PS Orions out? How critical is balancing a sailboat out port to starboard and how do you factor in passenger weight when doing this, or when provisioning?

I have a tiny bit of list, but the fuel tanks for Mk II were put in the bilge instead of the lazarette. When the water tank under the quarter berth is full I'm even. I do have all of my tools stored under the port dinette which probably helps too.

This may be beyond the scope of what you're trying to accomplish, but I would look more to relocating existing items, rather than adding ballast. Even cruising, pounds count and if you can keep ballast weight off, that's that much more useful gear and provisions you can pack aboard.

Are the tanks integral? Is it feasible to relocate them as needed? The batteries should be easy to relocate, even if you need to fabricate a new fiberglass shelf for them.

Am just about to purchase a 1979 PC Orion 27' and wondered if anyone knew what the differance was between a Mk1 and a Mk2 was? (as i assume a 1979 model is a Mk1)
Didn't notice a list at all by the way.

If you're not comfortable with walking on the walls and having anything (like a pencil) that you put down roll off overboard or onto the floor...You might want to rethink sailboats.

You can only balance a boat for one state, and the balance on a boat will be in constant change--never that one state. or hardly ever. So you trim it and ballast it for whatever is most common for you, and don't put any good cigars down near the rail.

You generally don't want to add lead to the boat, but rather relocate the heavy stuff low and midships as best you can, then shift whatever else to trim the boat.

It is normal for sailboats racing to shift the crew as live ballast, not just to or from the rail, but to bring weight forward or aft to trim the hull for conditions. Normally you'd trim the boat for normal sailing (i.e. "typical" crew in the cockpit, on the centerline) and however you keep your tanks. Some folks keep them full, others only fill them when needed--to keep the boat lighter and faster.

Am just about to purchase a 1979 PC Orion 27' and wondered if anyone knew what the differance was between a Mk1 and a Mk2 was? (as i assume a 1979 model is a Mk1)
Didn't notice a list at all by the way.

There are a few differences between the MkI and MkII.

The MkI has a shorter cabin and more foredeck. They added some more head space in the vee berth with the Mk II, which cut down on some foredeck space. With the extra length to the cabin, PSC added two more bronze ports to the MkII, totaling 10. The MkI has 8 bronze ports. The MkI its fuel tank in the lazarette where the MkII has the fuel tank in the bilge. The head is laid out differently on a MkI, the MkII has two different head layouts depending on which of the two interiors you have.

Those are the big differences. You'll see other small differences based on the origional options (tiller vs. wheel, A interior vs. C).

If you want a lot of Orion specific info check out the Yahoo group. Its not incredibly active, but there is activity in bursts. There are quite a few owner members, and we help each other out when a problem pops up. You can check out others boats in the fairly extensive photo section. I've even uploaded origional drawing of the deck arrangement, sail plan etc. Its a good place for Orion owners.

I don't have a problem with the list while under sail, or with how sailboats function in an breeze. Just thought it was curious that the boat would not sit flat on it's waterline while at a static rest, and was curious how people dealt with that and adjusted for it.

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